Man killed in Dunes crash A Bakersfield man dies after a pickup partially lands on the ATV he and three
others were riding on; it’s the first fatality this year.
By Leslie Parrilla
lparrilla@thetribunenews.com
A Bakersfield man died Saturday and three people were injured at the Oceano
Dunes during one of the busiest times of the year.
The death marks the first fatality at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular
Recreation Area this year. Two people died in 2005 in separate accidents in July
and October.
On Saturday, Jerry Carter, 27, was pronounced dead at Marian Medical Center in
Santa Maria, said Rey Monge, deputy superintendent for the state parks’ Oceano
Dunes District.
The collision happened around 1:30 p.m. when a pickup driven by Sean Brandon
Evans, 24, of Atascadero, with three passengers raced over a dune, became
airborne and partially landed on an ATV carrying Carter and three other people,
officials said. Also on the ATV were Bakersfield residents Shawn Barton, 28,
Ryan Gladdin, 33, and an unidentified 5-year-old boy.
The front end of the truck landed on the ATV, then it flipped onto its side.
Barton, Gladdin and the boy were taken to Arroyo Grande Community Hospital
with moderate to major injuries, officials said.
No one in the truck was injured.
Alcohol was not a factor in the accident, Monge said. The investigation is
continuing.
"It’s just a matter of the drivers not watching their speed," said Monge. "It is
the busiest weekend of the year. Drinking is not a major factor in the major
accidents that happen here. That’s a myth that there’s a bunch of drunken
drivers crashing into each other at the Dunes. It’s mainly people not watching
their speeds. They forget themselves. They go faster than they should."
Monge estimated there have been 10 to 20 accidents at the Dunes on holiday
weekends.
Thousands of people have arrived for the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and
campgrounds at the Oceano Dunes are sold out.
